The Adventures of Scarlet Fireblood
by Scarlet Fireblood
Summary: Follow the adventures of my Nord character through Skyrim. This book contains actual dialogue and text from the Skyrim game. I have reproduced some of this information to make immersion more believable.


Chapter 1

Finally! I've been tracking this deer for hours and now I've got him in my sights. Just thinking about a meal of nice roasted venison is making my salivary gland work overtime. I carefully nock an arrow and draw the bowstring taut. I'm almost afraid to breathe. Afraid I'll miss and spend another night with an empty belly. I take aim and….

I slowly open my eyes. As my surroundings slowly come into focus, I realize that I'm in trouble, very serious trouble. Not only is the deer and the creek where I was hunting gone, but I'm in some sort of wagon, being jostled about. As I instinctively reach for my bow, I realize that my hands are bound with tight leather strips and my bow and quiver are nowhere to be seen. My heart is racing and my head is pounding. I look around to assess the full weight of my situation.

The cart is only one of several filled with other captives. Three men are in the cart with me. I notice that they all appear to be Nords, like me; however, the attire of two of the men is what sends my heart racing. Stormcloaks! A blond-haired, blue-eyed Stormcloak soldier sits directly across from me. To my right sits another man in what appears to be some sort of Stormcloak armor that I've never seen before. Maybe he's some sort of high ranking officer or something. He has blond hair with braids and his eyes are the clearest blue I've ever seen, almost as if they can see into my soul. The most interesting thing is that his mouth is stuffed with filthy rags and an additional gag has been wrapped around his mouth. Must be a biter, I think to myself. The third man in the cart seems out of place, like me. He has dark eyes and hair and is dressed in filthy rags and appears more upset at his current situation than the others. I'm trying to look for a quick escape when a voice tells me that my return to consciousness has not gone unnoticed.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake", said the blond. "You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there." I just nodded my head. I've found out over the years that when you are backed into a corner, it's better to keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open. That way, when an opportunity to escape presents itself, you can take advantage without worrying that someone has information that can lead then to where you are heading. He spoke again, "The name's Ralof." Again, I simply nodded acknowledgement.

The thief whipped his head around and shouted, "Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along! Empire was nice and lazy! If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell!" His gaze shifted to me. "You there. You and me—we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants." His statement seemed almost more of a plea.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," sighed Ralof. An Imperial soldier in the front of the buggy turned around and shouted, "Shut up back there!" If looks could kill, the Imperial driver would have died on the spot because Ralof shot him a look that was sharp as an arrow.

The thief looked at the gagged man and asked in a whisper, "And what's wrong with him, huh?" "Watch your tongue!" Ralof hissed. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King."

What the hell have I landed in the middle of this time, I wondered to myself. I've heard of Ulfric Stormcloak, but I had no idea what he actually looked like. If this is Ulfric, then, then… my heart started racing again.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion?" asked the thief. I could tell his mind is travelling down the same twisted lane as mine. "But if they captured you…," his voice trailed off. "Oh gods! Where are they taking us?"

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits," replied Ralof resolutely. One thing's for certain, while this Ralof guy might be okay with getting to Sovngarde today, this gal wasn't quite ready for eternal revelry in the great mead hall in the sky. My thieving counterpart wasn't exactly thrilled at this prospect either. "No! This can't be happening!"

Ralof could see the thief falling apart and attempted to diffuse the situation by redirecting the man's thoughts elsewhere. "Hey, what village are you from horse thief?"

"Why do you care?"

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," replied Ralof. He stared down at the bindings on his hands and his eyes seemed to focus somewhere miles away. A shadow of sadness covered his face like a veil.

"Rorikstead. I'm… I'm from Rorikstead." For a second, the thief also seemed to slip away, far away from this mess we're caught up in.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman awaits!" called the Imperial soldier. "Good! Let's get this over with," the General replied.

If the thief looked panicked before, he was downright terrified now. "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!" His voice began to crack as tears filled his wide-eyes.

Ralof shot a glance ahead of the carts and his eyes became wild with rage and, his voice filled with venom, shouted "Look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor! And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves! I bet they had something to do with this." He slumped back against the railings of the cart and that distant look returned to his eyes. "This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in." He looked into my eyes and said, "Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe." Well at least one of us had a time we felt safe, I thought to myself.

Before my thoughts could return to the numerous tragedies that had lead me to this day, I heard the Imperial driver shout, "Whoa!" The cart rolled to a stop. "Why are we stopping?" asked the horse thief.

"Why do you think? End of the line," replied Ralof grimly. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep the gods waiting." I could almost see the sarcasm rolling off his Ralof's tongue. I decided right then and there that I liked him. And if today is the day we both end up in Sovngarde, I'll be the first to buy him a drink.

As we stood to get out of the wagon, the horse thief began to wail, "No! Wait! We're not rebels!" Ralof rolled his eyes and growled, "Face your death with some courage, thief." The horse thief spun around, his eyes wild with fear, and he began to shout at Ralof, "You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!" For a moment I thought Ralof was going to try to knock some sense into the thief, but he dropped his gaze and whispered, "Thief, do you really think it would make a difference?"

One of the Imperial guards shouted, "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time." Everyone turned their attention to the guard. As the guard unrolled the list of names, Ralof leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Empire loves their damn lists." I couldn't help but grin.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm," shouted the guard with a smug look of immense satisfaction on his face. "It has been an honor, Jarl Stormcloak!" shouted Ralof. The bound and gagged prisoner walked past the guards to the block with his head held high. He might be facing death, but I'll be damned if he isn't doing it with extreme dignity!

"Ralof of Riverwood!" the guard shouted with a smirk. As he passed a female Imperial guard, Ralof paused, looked her right in the eyes, and said, "Keep looking and grinning. You know you want me." Without missing a beat, he walked over to Ulfric Stormcloak's side. Despite the severity of my situation, I laughed until I almost cried.

"Lokir of Rorikstead!"

If this poor horse thief was terrified before, he was now crossing over into sheer hysteria. "No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" he shouted. Before anyone could react, he broke out into a full sprint. "Halt!" shouted the guard. Lokir kept running without looking back. Foolishly, I thought he might actually make it. "Archers!" Suddenly two Imperials armed with bows stepped out of the shadows and fired at Lokir. He fell in a heap in the middle of the road. It was clear to see now that they were toying with him. Giving him enough time to think he could make it before killing him. I loathe these Imperials.

"Anyone else feel like running?" asked the female Imperial soldier, looking straight at me. I'm sure she'd love for me to run, to be able to call the order to shoot me in the back like poor Lokir. I just stood there staring at her. The dark-haired soldier with the list seemed to take note of me. "Wait. You there. Step forward."

I took a deep breath and held my head high. I stepped up almost toe-to-toe with him. He looked me over as if trying to study every inch of me. I am a Nord, like the others I am with, but my looks sometimes throw people off. Most Nords are very fair, with light hair and blue eyes; however, I was as far from looking like most other Nords I was tall, like many of my kinsmen but I was thin, too thin, from too many nights without enough to eat. My skin was slightly more tan than my kinsmen, but the real difference was my hair and eyes. My hair was a firey red and usually hung in two braids that just passed my shoulders. If Nords considered my hair shocking, then my eyes was the kicker that pushed them over the top. My eyes were bright amber with a hint of gold and small red flecks that could only be seen when the sunlight hit my eyes just right. My father used to tell me stories about dragons when I was a child and he would always end by saying that one of them must have kissed me as I was born because my I had the eyes of a dragon and my hair was like its firey breath.

"Who are you?" The Imperial's question brought me back to the present.

"I am Scarlet Fireblood," I replied in a calm, cool tone. I casually left off where I am from. If I have a chance to break free, I have business to attend to in my old hometown. I don't need Imperial interference.

"You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, kinsman," the dark-haired Imperial said. Something about the look in his eyes and the hint of sadness in his voice led me to believe that he might actually mean what he said. He ran his finger down the book of names. "Captain, what should we do? She is not on the list." He shot a quick glance to the female Captain.

"Forget the list! She goes to the block!" she said with a hateful look on her face.

"By your orders, Captain," the soldier responded. "I'm sorry. At least you'll die here in your homeland." His eyes dropped and for a moment I almost felt sorry for him. "Follow the Captain, prisoner."

Determined to maintain my dignity as Ulfric and Ralof had, I didn't wait for the Captain. I lifted my chin and strolled up to the Captain, stopped and just stared into her eyes. I noticed her shaky hand start toward her blade. "What are you looking at, prisoner?"

"Not much from the look of things, but I just want to make sure I memorize your face so that one day, when I'm driving an arrow into your heart, I'll be sure I've killed the right person." My voice was cold and hard. I spun on my heels and walked over to Ralof's side. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "You know girly, if I didn't have a date with the executioner, I'd have to marry you." I looked at him and grinned. "Ralof, I'll settle for a drink in Sovngarde." He returned the smile.

General Tullius, a short, gray-haired man, strutted over to Ulfric Stormcloak and attempted to stand face to face with him, but no matter how tall he tried to stand, he just couldn't match Ulfric's stature. "Ulfric Stormcloak." Tullius started, "Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his King and usurp his throne." I could hear what sounded like a growl coming from Ulfric. "Tullius stretched his arms out and paraded around back and forth in front of Ulfric, shouting, "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore peace." Onlookers cheered, "Death to the Stormcloaks!"

A sound I'd never heard before, like a distant thundering growl, brought Tullius to a sudden stop. The dark-haired soldier with the list shouted, "What was that?" From the look of confusion, I wasn't the only one who didn't recognize the sound.

Tullius, seeming not quite so cocky, replied, "It's nothing. Carry on"

"Yes, General Tullius," the list-holder said with a slightly trembling voice.

The Imperial Captain turned to a priestess near the executioner's block and ordered her to give us our last rites. The priestess lifted her arms and chanted, "As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved…"

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with," shouted a Stormcloak soldier. He marched up to block and said, "Come on, I haven't got all morning." No matter what the Imperials said about these Stormcloaks, one thing was certain, they didn't seem to know the meaning of the word fear.

The female Captain shoved the Stormcloak soldier to his knees and used her foot to slam his head down to the block. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" asked the soldier. As he uttered his last word the executioner brought down his gleaming axe and in an instant the Stormcloak's head rolled down into a basket. The captain of the Imperials walked over and kicked his body away from the block. I have never wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted to kill her and that bastard, Tullius.

"You Imperial bastards!" a Stormcloak soldier shouted.

The Captain looked at me with distain and said, "Next, the Nord in the rags!"

That strange sound ripped through the sky again, only closer this time. "There it is again. Did you hear that?" the list-reader asked. The Captain shot him an angry look and shouted, "I said, next prisoner!"

Ralof leaned close and said, "Looks like you'll be in Sovngarde before me, so the first round is on you, girly." I gave him a heartfelt smile.

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy," the Captain said. I may be getting my head chopped off, but I decided that I wouldn't give the Captain the pleasure of knocking me to my knees. As soon as I got to the block I dropped down, turned my head to look at the executioner and placed my neck on the chopping block. The only thing I could do at this point was to just stare into the executioner's eyes, hoping that maybe my face might haunt his dreams tonight.

As the executioner raised his axe, someone shouted, "What in Oblivion is that?" I could sense fear and panic rippling through the ranks. "Sentries! What do you see?" the Captain shouted. "It's in the clouds," a panicked voice shouted back.

Suddenly an enormous black-scaley dragon landed atop the watchtower. A dragon? Am I seeing this correctly? Before I even have time to process what's happening, the dragon opens its mouth and gives a powerful roar. It packs enough power to knock the executioner and several Imperial guards to the ground. Before I have time to react, a second blast knocks me to ground. My vision is blurred and I can't tell what is happening. All I know is that chaos has erupted all around.

I stagger to my feet and try to get my eyes to focus. I can sense people runiing and I can hear terrified shouts and screams. A familiar voice shouts to me, "Hey, kinsman! Get Up! Come on, the gods won't give us a second chance!" It's Ralof. I can just make out his form in front of me and I try to follow, but my footing is unsteady. I barely manage to make it to a tower. "Quick, girly! Get into the keep!" He shoves me through the door and I fall to the floor. My eyes are beginning to focus again and I see Ulfric and Ralof have managed to lose their bindings and Ulfic has lost his gag. I sit there for a moment, still trying to comprehend the scene that unfolded before me in the courtyard.

"Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?" Ralof asked with disbelief in his voice.

Ulfic looked at him with those clear-blue eyes and calmly said, "Legends don't burn down villages." In that moment, I learned one of two possible things about Ulfric Stormcloak, either he is the stuff legends are made of, or he is as crazy as the Imperials say he is. Either way, he doesn't seem rattled in the least. In fact, he is taking command of the situation like, well, a true King. "Ralof," Ulfric continued, "go up through the tower and see if you can find a way out. Get as many of our soldiers out as you can. I'll stay here and try to get the injured out through the courtyard." As if sensing Ralof's hesitation to leave his side, Ulfic shouted, "Go! Now!"

Ralof turned toward me and yelled, "Up through the tower, let's go!" He didn't need to tell me twice. I jumped to my feet and ran up the stairs after him. A couple of Stormcloak soldiers were midway up the stairs looking at a massive pile of rubble blocking the way up. They began shifting rocks around, attempting to clear a path. As Ralof and I drew near, a blast knocked a hole through the side of the tower. A massive spread of flamed engulfed the Stormcloak soldiers, their screams almost drowned out by the screech of the dragon. Ralof and I were thrown several feet back down the stairs. We both froze as the dragon's head appeared through the hole. "Toor… Shul!" the dragon shouted as another wave of fire flooded the stairway. The dragon turned and flew back over the courtyard. Ralof and I stared at each other in disbelief. As badly as I wanted to know if he heard the dragon speak too, I knew there was no time for questions.

As Ralof and I bounded back up the stairs, we looked out the gaping hole in the tower wall. The scene below was almost surreal. Buildings were burning and reduced to rubble. Dead bodies littered the courtyard. Soldiers and prisoners alike were shouting orders, running for cover, or attempting to fight the dragon. The mayhem below was blanketed by the shadow of the massive dragon flying overhead.

Ralof pointed at a partially destroyed building next to our tower. "See the inn on the other side?" I gave a quick nod. "Good. Jump through the roof and keep going! I'll find you as soon as I can."

Without a second look, I perched on the edge of the hole and jumped. Fortunately my judgment in distance was pretty good, because I fell through a vast hole in the inn's thatched roof. I felt my bones jar and the sharp, metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth as my teeth snapped together on the tip of my tongue when I hit the remnants of the upstairs wooden floor. There was no time to stop. The opposite end of the inn was completely destroyed, so I dropped down through a hole in the floor to the ground level. As I staggered out of the inn, I spotted the dark-haired Imperial who had been reading the list of names earlier.

"Haming, you need to get over here, now!" he screamed. A young boy, who looked no more than ten or eleven, ran to the Imperial's side. "That a boy! You're doing great!" The frightened youngster looked at the soldier and asked, "Hadvar, are we going to make it". Before Hadvar could answer, another older man rounded the corner and joined the duo.

"Gunnar! By the gods, I'm glad to see you!" Hadvar exclaimed. "Get back everyone!" An enormous blast of fire ripped through the air where we had been standing just a second ago. Hadvar grasped the young boy's shoulder and looked him in the eyes, "Haming, I want you to stay with Gunnar. He'll get you to safety." Hadvar shifted his gaze to Gunnar and continued, "Don't worry about me, or anyone else. Get this kid out of here." Gunnar grabbed Haming by the hand and the two sprinted down the across the courtyard and rounded a nearby building.

"Still alive, prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way." I looked at Hadvar trying to decide if I should follow his advice or slit his throat. I heard the shout of the dragon nearby and decided that no matter where Hadvar's loyalty lies, I'd be better off with him as an ally at the moment. After all, if the dragon wants to eat someone, all I have to do is outrun Hadvar, right?

Hadvar shouted, "I need to find General Tullius and regroup. Keep close to the wall. Ready?" I gave a quick nod and we raced through the courtyard, hugging the walls for protection whenever possible. "Look out!" Hadvar screamed. The dragon landed on the wall directly over us. His wings were so close that I could have reached out and touched them. I held my breath and flattened out against the wall. After giving another shout that leveled more buildings, the dragon took to the sky once again.

Without a word, Hadvar was on the move once again. I made sure to follow him closely through the maze of demolished buildings, fires, dead bodies and the throngs of soldiers still looking for a way to make it out of here intact. We managed to make our way along the southern edge of the remnants of the courtyard wall to an archway that lead to another tower in the keep. As Hadvar and I ran through the opening, we spotted Ralof running toward the same tower.

Both men drew their swords and glared at one another. "Ralof! You damn traitor. Out of my way!" exclaimed Hadvar. Ralof rushed forward and grabbed my hand. "We're escaping, Hadvar! You're not stopping us this time!" Hadvar looked at me with almost a pained expression and shouted, "Fine! I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"

Hadvar turned and ran back through the archway. Before I could say anything, Ralof was pulling me by the hand toward the keep. He kicked the door open and shoved me inside. He clambered in and slammed the door behind him. Ralof collapsed against the door, panting, and shot me an impish grin. "Girly, we've got to stop meeting like this or people are going to start talking."

"How about you worry less about the local gossip and more about getting out of here with our heads intact?" I asked.

"Right you are, girly. There'll be plenty of time for you to faun over your knight in shining armor later on"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. When I looked back at Ralof, I noticed his mood had become somber. I turned to see what he was focused on. Lying in the floor behind me was a dead Stormcloak soldier. As Ralof made his way over to his fallen comrade, I took a look around at the tower.

The room we were in was large, circular and entirely made of stone. There were two large iron gates, one leading deeper into the tower and the other leading back to the door we had just came through. Other than a table and few Imperial tapestries, there was nothing useful to be had here.

I walked over to Ralof, who was kneeling by his former brother-in-arms. I gently placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Ralof, we need to move before the dragon brings this tower down too." He closed the soldier's eyes and softly bid him farewell.

He stood and started toward the iron gate, then he suddenly paused to look back at me. "Looks like you and me were the only ones who made it." I shook my head in agreement. "That thing was a dragon," he continued. "No doubt. Just like the children's stories and legends. The Harbingers of the End Times."

A small shudder rippled through my body. I guess I'm not the only one still in disbelief that a dragon just ripped apart an entire fort. I reached up to brush a stray hair away from my face only to realize that my hands were still bound.

"Come here, girly. Let me see if I can get those bindings off of you." With a couple of cuts of his dagger, Ralof severed the leather strips. I gently rubbed my wrists where the bindings had chaffed my skin.

Ralof took one last look at the body on the floor and said, "You may as well take Gunjar's gear. He won't be needing it anymore."

"Are you sure?" I asked timidly. Ralof nodded and turned his back to me. "You can strip down and put his armor on, girly. It's light weight and he was a smaller lad so it should fit you pretty well. There's an axe on the floor by him. It should help get you through whatever lies ahead."

"Ralof, thanks," I said, "for everything. Now keep looking forward and so help me, if I catch you peeking I'll cut your head off." Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smiling.

After a few minutes I was suited up in Stormcloak armor and had a weapon in my hand. The armor was incredibly light leather with short chainmail sleeves. My new boots and gauntlets were supple, brown leather with soft fur cuffs. The iron war axe looked like it had seen better days. The head was slightly rusty and the wooden handle was well worn, but the cutting edge was surprisingly sharp. I gave it a few experimental swings and was amazed how agile I could be with it. The true test would be when I had to use it.

"Okay, Ralof, you may turn around."

He turned, looked at me, and roared with laughter. I could feel heat radiating from my face as it turned a brilliant shade of red.

"Something funny?" I asked.

"Well, don't get upset, girly, but yes! I mean, earlier today you had a poor horse thief begging you to convince the guards that the two of you weren't part of the Stormcloak rebellion. And now here you stand looking like you've always been in Ulfric's army. The really funny part is that it looks so… so… natural on you. Like you were born to be one of us."

Okay. I suppose I could see the irony and, well, I suppose it was amusing. I gave Ralof a huge smile and asked, "Are you just going to gawk at me all day or are we getting out of here?"

He turned back to the gate and gave it a push. "Damn! It's locked! Looks like we're going to have to go back out the way we came in."

As we neared the entrance gate, we could hear voices. "The prisoners have escaped. We don't know where they are now." Ralof mouthed the words, "Imperial guards."

We positioned ourselves on either side of the gate and pushed back as close to the wall as we could. Ralof held a finger to his lips and signaled for me to be ready. As the guards cleared the entryway, Ralof and I attacked. He drove his sword through the guard's neck and I buried my axe in the other guard's skull. Two good, clean kills.

"Check the guards to see if one of them has a key to the gates. I'll listen at the door to make sure there aren't more of them coming in," said Ralof.

The first guard had a few coins in a small pouch. I shoved it into the top of my boot. The second guard has a few more coins, a nice Imperial sword and a key. I pocketed the rest of the coins, armed myself with the sword and dangled the key from my finger. "Got it," I said.

I ran to the gate and inserted the key in the lock. As I turned it, I heard a satisfying little click. Relief washed over me. After the way this day had been going, I almost expected it to be the wrong key.

"That's it! Come on. Let's get out of here before that dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads!" Ralof exclaimed.

We started making our way through the rough stone corridors. Even though we were in a rush, we still slowed enough to ease around corners and slip silently though doors. Even though we haven't seen anyone else, we just couldn't take the chance of running straight into more Imperial soldiers. I had almost become comfortable with the idea that we would have an easy trip though these tunnels when I heard the distant sounds of talking. I motioned for Ralof to stop. I slipped into a crouch and silently sneaked along the wall to get a better look at who was ahead of us. As I neared the doorway, I heard someone say, "Those Stormcloak prisoners could come this way. We need to stay here and make sure these dogs don't get out alive." I eased closer and noticed two Imperial soldiers in what appeared to be some sort of supply room. I quietly made my way back to Ralof and told him in a hushed whisper what we were facing.

"Piece of cake, girly. I'll take the one on the left and you take the one on the right. You okay with that?" he asked in a hushed whisper. I nodded in agreement and we slipped silently back to the supply room. Ralof began a countdown on his fingers. One. Two. Three. We rushed in and took the soldiers by surprise. Ralof's sword found its way straight into the guard's heart. My guy didn't go down quiet as easy. He noticed me out of the corner of his eye and as I slashed with my sword, he turned and sidestepped to the right, my sword just missing his neck. Fortunately he was much slower than me! Before he could turn back around to face me I grabbed him around the neck and plunged my sword deep into his chest. His body slumped to the floor.

"By the Divines, I thought I was going to have to save you again!" Ralof exclaimed with a hefty dose of sarcasm. I just rolled my eyes at him and gave him my best "go to hell" look. He chuckled softly and said, "Take a look around and grab anything useful, Maybe they have some potions stashed in here. I'll stand guard and watch the doors.

The supply room was fairly large and had only two doors. The one we came though and another door at the far end. Barrels, crates, and sacks were stacked around the walls and a roaring fire in the fireplace cast a warm glow throughout the room. If we hadn't been running for our lives, I might have actually considered settling down here for a rest, but a sudden rumble and shake of the tower let me know that the dragon was still out there and we still needed to find a way out. I began to quickly look through the various containers for anything we could make use of. It seems this place was pretty much wiped out. I managed to scrounge up a few bottle of what appeared to be healing potions and a few apples. I shoved the items into my knapsack and did a quick check of the guards. I managed to find a few gold coins and threw them into my pack as well.

"Well, you done yet?" Ralof asked anxiously. It's clear he is as anxious to get out of here as I am.

"Let's go."

As Ralof pushed the door open, we heard a blood-curdling scream. We exchanged a quick glance as we drew our swords. We quickly made our way along a short corridor when we came to a room that looked like something straight out of a nightmare.

"By the gods, it's a torture room!" Ralof shouted in disbelief. We rushed into the room just as the lead Imperial torturer was casting some type of spell on a Stormcloak soldier. Tongues of white-blue lightning sprang from the torturer's fingertips and enveloped his victim. The soldier's face twisted into a grotesque mask of pain and misery as a hair-raising scream filled the air. Ralof and I both managed to drive our blades into the Imperial simultaneously, one blade through the neck, another through his back. As the torturer fell to the ground, so did the casualty of his cruel punishment. "No!" Ralof shouted in frustration. He began to kick the torturer repeatedly shouting curses over the lifeless body.

"Ralof, I'm sorry we couldn't help your brother-in-arms, but we can't stay here much longer. I'll leave you to a quick farewell while I look around for anything we can use," I said.

Honestly, I couldn't wait to be out of this room. Away from the numerous iron cages with blood-splattered shackles mounted inside. Away from the room with a plethora of maces, swords, daggers and other devices used to inflict torment upon numerous victims. A quick survey of the room netted us three lock picks, a few more coins, two potions that I didn't have time to identify, and a black book with the word Dragonborn on the cover. I quickly shoved the items into my knapsack, thinking that maybe the book might just have some useful information on our current dragon situation. I glanced around at Ralof, who was staring into one of the iron cages. I walked to his side to see what held his attention. A young boy, maybe 16 or 17, dressed in light blue mage robes was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. A few scattered possessions lay on the floor—a book of some sort, a potion bottle and a small handful of coins.

"Girly, see if you can pick that lock. Once we're out of here, we'll need all the coin we can get our hands on."

Without a word, I grabbed a lock pick from my pack and went to work. You know, for the Imperials to always seem so worried about security, the lock on this cage door was surprisingly easy to pick. It took me all of about 5 seconds to break in. I grabbed the loot, crammed it into the pack, and headed toward the next door. I could hear Ralof right behind me.

We continued to make our way through corridors and rooms filled with iron cages containing the rotting corpses of Stormcloak captives. Ralof had fallen silent and it wasn't hard to understand why. I wonder how many of his friends had ended up here. How many had died to defend their cause. As silent as ghosts, we continued on until we reached a large underground cavern.

My luck took a definite turn for the better when we stumbled across a small group of four Imperial soldiers. Ralof and I managed to take out two without being noticed. The third and fourth were armed with bows, but given the fact that their arrows never even came close to us, I'd say they scavenged them from some of the soldiers that had fallen in the dragon's flames. We managed to take them out without even getting a scratch on us. I grabbed a bow and a slung a quiver of arrows from one of the archers over my shoulder. Ralof took the arrows from the other guard's quiver and added them to my own.

"On our way to Helgen, I noticed you reached up like you were looking for a bow. I took you for an archer. Am I right?" asked Ralof.

"Aye. My father taught me to shoot and I've practiced pretty much all of my life."

"I'll stick to the blade then, you take out distant targets."

I nodded in agreement. Once again we were up and following the rough, rocky corridors further underground. Ahead of us the tunnel seemed to widen into what appeared to be a large cavern.

"Ralof, stop!" I whispered. I pointed ahead and when his eyes took in the sight before us, he shuddered. As sunlight filtered in through tiny cracks in the cavern roof, it was easy to see that the entire cavern was draped with a heavy coating of white sticky webs. I've seen these webs enough to know what was lying in wait. Frostbite spiders. Not only are these arachnids freakishly large, they can also spew a stream of venom at you from several yards away. Let them get close and they'll clamp their mandibles on you hard enough to break an arm or snap off a finger. "Stay back," I whispered. "I'll take them out from here."

Ralof took a couple of silent steps back as I nocked my first arrow. I could see three spiders on the ground and I knew from experience that there should be a few hiding in the webs up on the ceiling. I drew back and let my first arrow fly. It hit its mark and the spider fell over dead. I could see that the others were agitated, but they didn't really know what was happening. I took advantage of the confusion to bring down the other two.

Ralof stood up and began to make his way into the cave. "Umm, Ralof, I hate to tell you, but I can see two more spiders up in the webbing on the ceiling. He took a quick glance up and turned to me "You sure, girly?"

"Yes. You may not notice them, but I can see the tell-tale signs of them up there."

"Can you get a clear shot at them?" he asked hopefully.

"Not without bait," I replied.

"And that bait you need, I suppose it just has be a handsome Nord soldier who always rescues the lady in distress?"

"Should be, but you'll do for now," I fired off.

Ralof grinned and I could have sworn he muttered something about me being the death of him someday. He turned and began to make his way cautiously through the cavern, risking an occasional glance at me to see if he was heading in the right direction. Just as I had predicted, two more eight-leggers started to drop down on Ralof. Without hesitation I quickly fired off two arrows and the spiders dropped to the flood with a solid thud.

"I hate those damn things! Too many eyes, you know?" Ralof said with an exaggerated shudder of his body.

"Aye. Too many eyes and too many legs." I laughed.

We cautiously made our way across the cavern, around a small bend, and found ourselves in yet another vast cavern. Light filtered in softly through more cracks and I was, for the first time in a while, beginning to feel like maybe we were nearing an exit. A small clear stream of water cut through the middle of the cave, so Ralof and I found a small ledge of rocks that formed a small natural bridge. As we made our way across, Ralof tapped my shoulder and pointed to an area to my right. "Hold up! There's a bear just ahead," he whispered. "I'd rather not tangle with her right now. Let's just try to sneak by. Just take it nice and slow. I'll be right behind you just in case she gets wind of us."

I gave a quick nod and crouched down into the shadows. Thankfully the bear was sleeping. I moved along the rocky cavern walls swiftly and silently. My father used to tell me that trying to catch me was like trying to catch smoke in the wind. More often than not I can slide by undetected, but occasionally I end up bound and riding a wagon to the chopping block. Can't be perfect all the time, I thought.

Ralof's foot sent a pebble skidding across the cave floor. I flung an arm back to press him tighter against the wall, deeper into the shadows. The bear raised its head and cautiously sniffed the air, checking for any signs that an intruder was afoot. I held my breath, and remained so still that I could have easily become part of the rocks jutting out from the cavern walls. Satisfied that it was safe, the bear lowered its head and drifted back into its peaceful slumber.

I waited for a few seconds to be sure we were safe before I let out a long, slow breath. I waved Ralof cautiously forward. We sneaked around a sharp curving tunnel and I stood up slowly. I turned to Ralof and whispered, "By the gods, I thought I was going to have to save you back there!"

"Aye, girly. I suppose I deserved that one," Ralof said with a grin. "Come on. Let's see where this tunnel leads.

We followed a few more sharp twists and turns when suddenly we saw a sight that stopped us dead in our tracks. Sunlight. Lots and lots of beautiful bright sunlight. Ralof took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "I think this is it. This is the way out!" he exclaimed joyfully.

Hand in hand, we broke into a sprint toward the light, toward freedom, toward an unknown future.


End file.
